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Friday, July 29, 2011

ⓌⒽⒶⓉ Will ⓉⒽⒺⓎ Think of Ⓝ€✘Ⓣ: Tegon, the Glow-in-the-Dark.. Dog?

Researchers at Seoul National University have announced the creation of a genetically modified, glow-in-the-dark dog. The female beagle, named Tegon, glows fluorescent under ultraviolet light. But, perhaps surprisingly, glow-in-the-dark animals aren’t all that new since we’ve seen glowing pigs and fish before. (We have... where?) What is particularly interesting about Tegon is that the glowing ability is capable of being turned on and off. (Say what?)

When ingested by the dog with food, the drug doxycycline can activate or deactivate the ability to glow. Led by Lee Byeong-chun, the researchers used the same somatic cell nuclear transfer technique to make Tegon glow that was used in 2005 to make the world’s first cloned dog, Snuppy.﻿

A foot of the cloned fluorescent three-month-old Tegon,
glowing in the dark under ultra-violet light (L)
and under normal lighting at
Seoul National University's College of Veterinary Medicine in 2009.

Published in the journal Genesis, the research shows that it is possible to successfully insert genes into a dog that allow it to express a specific trait that can be controlled, while not altering other functions. This isn’t earth shattering as far as human biomedical research goes, but finding the right pathway to do this could have important implications for research into the effects of some of the 268 illnesses shared by humans and dogs.Lee Byeong-chun told the Yonhap news agency:

“The creation of Tegon opens new horizons since the gene injected to make the dog glow can be substituted with genes that trigger fatal human diseases.”

But don’t expect glowing dogs to become all the rage. Creating Tegon and performing the necessary verification tests on the research cost the university $3 million (3.2 billion won). So, while the technology used to create a glowing dog may prove to be useful for biomedical research, there isn’t going to be a crazy commercial glowing dog trend. Tegon is one of a kind.

Well, I guess this is great news in terms of biomedical technology, but when or if it ever becomes the norm and therefore more affordable, I think they should also use it for other purposes other than genetics. Say for example on........ I don't know... irrate women?

In the dark, glowing men aren't necessary - like dogs, you can hear them coming a mile away. Women, on the other hand, are sneaky as hell, so any advantage a man can gain when a angry woman shows her scorn... well now that's a helpful, all-around achievement in health and well-being, sex and relationships, bio-science, chemistry, technology, peace of mind...